Destin Hood

Destin Dwane Hood

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 225 lb.
• High School St. Paul's Episcopal School
• Debut September 2, 2016
• Final Game October 2, 2016
• Born April 3, 1990 in Mobile, AL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Destin Hood reached AA in 2012 and made his major league debut in 2016.

Hood hit .517 as a high school junior and .485 with 17 steals as a senior. USA Today named him to their All-USA High School Baseball Team. He also was an Aflac All-American and led the AFLAC Home Run Derby with 8 home runs. In football, he had 56 catches as a receiver to lead his school to a state title. He was selected by the Washington Nationals in the second round of the 2008 amateur draft, the 55th total pick (between fellow outfielders Cutter Dykstra and Jay Austin). He was Washington's second pick, following Aaron Crow, and Washington's top pick to sign. He turned a football and baseball scholarship from the University of Alabama to sign. The scout was Eric Robinson.

He made his pro debut that summer with the GCL Nationals, hitting .256/.333/.349. Baseball America listed him as the #18 prospect in the Gulf Coast League, between Zeke Spruill and Derrik Gibson and as Washington's 7th-best prospect, between catchers Derek Norris and Adrian Nieto. He split 2009 between the GCL Nationals (.330/.388/.614 in 25 G) and the Vermont Lake Monsters (.246/.302/.333 in 38 G). Baseball America put him on three top prospect lists: in the GCL (#8, between Jonathan Singleton and Tanner Bushue), in the New York-Pennsylvania League (#13, between Adam Warren and Jimmy Paredes) and in the Nationals chain (#10).

With the Hagerstown Suns in 2010, he hit .285/.333/.388 with 30 doubles and 5 home runs, with 14 outfield assists but 9 errors. He was a South Atlantic League All-Star, picked as the utility outfielder (the main three outfield slots went to J.D. Martinez, Eliezer Mesa and Jeremy Hazelbaker). He fell off the Baseball America list of the top 10 Nationals prospects and did not make their top-20 list for the SAL.

The following summer, with the Potomac Nationals, he hit .276/.364/.445 with 29 doubles, 13 homers, 21 steals in 27 tries and 83 RBI; he fielded .996 and had 12 assists. He was second in the Nationals chain in RBI (behind Tyler Moore) and was 5th in doubles. In the Carolina League, he led in outfielder fielding percentage, tied for 9th in doubles, tied Tyler Townsend for tenth in home runs, was 4th in OBP, 6th in slugging, ranked 5th in OPS (between Andy Wilkins and Carlo Testa) and was third in RBI (after Ian Gac and Wilkins). He joined Bryce Brentz and Ryan Strausborger as the league's All-Star outfielders. Baseball America rated him Washington's 11th-best prospect and as the 12th-best prospect in his league, between Spruill and Sammy Solis. They did not list him as the best defensive outfield prospect in his league, as they went with Strausborger.

In 2012, the 22-year-old struggled in AA with the Harrisburg Senators (.245/.301/.344 in 94 G, 3 HR, 6 SB) and spent five games with the Auburn Doubledays on a rehab stint after a wrist injury.

He picked a good pitcher to victimize for his first career home run as, playing for the Miami Marlins on the final day of the 2016 season, on October 2nd, he went deep off Max Scherzer with a two-run shot. He had been called up by Miami when rosters expanded at the beginning of the month. It turned out to be his only major league season.

Hood joined the Washington Nationals organization in 2021 as a coach with the FCL Nationals. He returned to the team as a development coach in 2022-2023.

Sources

• 2012 Nationals Media Guide
• Baseball America

Related Sites

• Destin Hood on mlb.com
• BR Minors page